Jedi Outcast
by Sithwitch 13
Summary: Xmen: EvolutionStar Wars crossover, WIP. Anakin Solo in Bayville. Spoilers for the Star Wars New Jedi Order books. On hiatus until further notice.
1. Star By Star

Author's Note:  This story begins towards the end of "Star By Star" by Troy Denning.  Anakin Solo, son of Princess Leia and Han Solo, is leading a strike team into the territory of an alien species called the Yuuzhan Vong in order to destroy some Jedi-hunting creatures called voxyn.  He has been seriously wounded by a Vong amphistaff, among other things.  I will be glad to answer any questions about the plot, but I recommend that you read the book.  In fact, read the whole Star Wars series.

This first chapter is more or less directly from pages 455-457 of "Star by Star."

Ch. 1

The Yuuzhan Vong charged again, and Jaina fired.  Another warrior fell, and the rest came.  Anakin flipped another five meters back—then felt someone, a Yuuzhan Vong, creeping along the far wall of the grashal.  He retreated until he could see the figure: the Jedi imposter, perhaps thirty meters distant, dragging a heavy cargo pod toward the strike team's makeshift opening.

The warriors arrived again, and Anakin had to defend himself.  Purple blade ticking back and forth, blocking and parrying and slipping strike after strike, he faded two steps and saw an opening.  He brought his feet up and planted his heels in the center Yuuzhan Vong's chest.  His lightsaber flashed twice, cleaving the skulls of the adjacent warriors, then he kicked off, launching himself into a series of Force-assisted cartwheels.

Anakin continued far enough to see where the impostor had come from, a work area near the queen's pen.  Dozens of tendrils lay stretched along a workbench, each ending in a small cloning pod, some oopen, some closed.  It looked like a tissue transfer station.

That was what the imposter had, a cargo pod full of voxyn tissue, enough to clone a million.  Anakin's aura flashed and dimmed, flashed again and dimmed more, his cells rupturing in chain reactions, the cycles coming faster and faster as less of him remained to contain the energy.  He felt himself not exactly departing, but melting back into the Force.  He pulled his last thermal detonator off his harness and thumbed the timer three clicks.

_Go now._

"Anakin, I can't!" Jaina commed.

            Anakin raised the detonator so his brother and sister could see.  _Thirty seconds._  He released the trigger.  _Take her, Jacen.  Kiss Tahiri for me._

            With the charging warriors almost on him again, Anakin threw the detonator across the grashal.  He wasn't conscious of using the Force to guide it, but he must have, because it hit the impostor in the head.

            Anakin was too busy parrying to see what happened for the next few seconds, but when he finally managed to spring away from his attackers—he was no longer strong enough to flip or cartwheel—the impostor was gathering himself up, rubbing his head and searching for what had struck him.  Even from thirty meters, his broken nose and misshapen eye orbit identified him clearly as Nom Anor.

            When the executor's gaze fell on the silver sphere, his real eye grew as large as his plaeryin bol.  He reached down.

            Anakin used the Force to nudge the sphere away, then caught an amphistaff in the ribs and went down hard, letting his lightsaber fall from his hand.  His aura was only a faint glow, flickering between dim and nonexistent.  The maelstrom inside was dying now, flowing back into the Force.

            Nom Anor rushed for the detonator again.  Anakin waited, waited until the executor was almost on it, then reached out with the Force one last time, rolling the sphere toward the cargo pod.

            He did not hear the angry curse that followed, nor did he see Nom Anor fleeing at a dead run.

            By then, Anakin was gone.

            He felt a strange, exhilarating weightlessness for a moment, before suddenly feeling like he had been pushed.  Anakin felt that he was gaining mass, staying coherent instead of pleasantly being absorbed in the Force.  Another push and he was…somewhere.  And then came a real, physical push—no, a collision.  Anakin felt fur and some kind of material, and then felt himself hit metal.  He opened his eyes and found himself in some kind of room, where two humans and one humanoid looked at him strangely.

            "Where am I?" he croaked out.


	2. Unexpected Arrival

Ch. 2

            Professor Charles Xavier nearly jumped out of his skin.  This may have unnerved him more than the sudden appearance of an unknown boy in the Danger Room, since very little startled him.

            He heard the boy speak, but didn't recognize the language.  The boy realized that he was not being understood, and once more to Xavier's surprise, a voice entered his mind.  _Where am I?_

            "Professor?"  Scott Summers sounded uneasy, not at all like the mature leader persona that he usually tried to project.  Kitty Pryde was slowly edging towards the exit, and Kurt Wagner was understandably shocked.  _I've never brought anything back with me while teleporting!  Well, not directly._  Kurt's thoughts might have been amusing under any other circumstance.  At the moment, Xavier was busily wheeling himself into the Danger Room.

            Anakin, though shocked and mentally and physically exhausted, tried to keep his wits about him.  He quickly assessed the other three people in the room.  The Force in…wherever he was…felt weaker and stranger than normal, but he could still sense it.  These three were frightened, but not about to hurt him unless he attacked first.  He could also feel a powerful presence making its way towards them.

            This done, Anakin began to assess himself.  He was still just as weary as he had been before he died (_I'm dead.  Why am I here?_).  He was still wearing the tattered, bloodstained coveralls he had been wearing when he died (_I'm dead.  What am I doing here?_), but with no trace of the wounds that had directly and indirectly killed him.  He didn't have his lightsaber.

            He looked up when a bald human in some form of wheeled chair entered the room.  He seemed to be the source of power that Anakin had detected.

            _Where am I?_  Anakin once again directed this question to the man telepathically, while simultaneously fighting back a wave of panic.

            _You are in the Charles Xavier School for Gifted Children,_ came the mental reply.  Probably noting the blank look on Anakin's face, the man mentally sent another message.  _I am Charles Xavier.  Who are you, where did you come from, and most importantly, how did you get here?_

            Anakin took a deep breath.  _I am Anakin Solo, a Jedi Knight.  I don't know why or how I am here.  I don't even know where 'here' really is.   I died a few seconds ago._

            Scott, who had inconspicuously herded Kitty and Kurt away from the strange boy, noted the look on the Professor's face.  "Professor?  What's wrong?"

            "He said that his name is Anakin Solo.  Apparently, he died and has no idea how he is here."

            All three teenagers did a double-take.  "Died?" repeated Kitty.

            Anakin turned his head and looked at them.  _If you don't believe me,_ came a mental voice to all four other people, _these are my last memories._

            They got fleeting images and impressions of family and friends… twin siblings… rogue father and princess mother… a blonde girl who had become more than a friend… an uncle who had an enormous weight on his shoulders… an aunt who had taught him so much… glimpses of planets, spaceships, aliens… especially one species, a tall, brutal looking race… battles fought… and the last few images, rife with pain and understanding.

            As abruptly as it had come, it was gone.  The Professor looked shaken.  Scott was confused and unsure of what to think.  Kitty and Kurt both cried silently, and probably without conscious knowledge.  Anakin was visibly fighting tears.

            "You're not even from this planet, are you?" asked Kitty softly.  Anakin picked up on her intention and shook his head "no."

            "Scott, Kitty, go upstairs and find Storm and Mr. McCoy.  Tell them to meet me in my office."  Scott and Kitty nodded and quickly exited the Danger Room.  "Kurt, could you assist Anakin in coming to my office?  He seems a bit tired."  Turning to Anakin, the Professor and Kurt found him passed out on the metal floor.  "I'll meet you there."  A bit reluctantly, considering the results of his last act of teleporting, Kurt took hold of Anakin's arm and * bamf*ed out of the Danger Room.  Xavier followed, albeit slower, in his wheelchair.


	3. Breakfast of Champions

Ch. 3

            The residents of the Mansion were understandably shocked at both the newcomer and his previous home and activities.  It wasn't every day that a person dropped in on you from a place that supposedly exists only in movies, books, and the minds of fans around the world.

            "Anakin Solo's a character from Star Wars!" cried Evan, half triumphantly, half incredulous.  It was the day after the arrival.

            "What?"  Jean had never even seen the movies.

            "If you read the books, he's Han Solo and Princess Leia's youngest son."

            "You read?"

            Evan ignored Rogue's sarcastic remark and continued.  "I just finished 'Star by Star' and that's where he dies.  Hey, Forge!"

            "What?"

            "You're smart.  Do you have any explanations on how a supposedly made-up character ended up here?"

            "Give me some time."

            Not that he had come up with anything since then.  Rogue knew that Forge wasn't sure whether or not to find out how to send Anakin back, since the poor guy was dead in his reality.  In the meantime, the Professor was working intensively with Anakin, teaching him English and the local culture and customs.  Needless to say, no one saw too much of him.

************************************************************************

            A week after the "arrival", as some started to call it, Rogue finally met the "mysterious alien guy" that everyone had been talking so much about.  She came downstairs and meandered into the kitchen, idly wondering if there was any leftover Pizza Hut from the night before.  Anakin was sitting at the table, morosely poking at a bowl of Lucky Charms.

            Rogue ruffled through the refrigerator and found the pizza.  She sat down across from the tall Jedi and began to eat in silence.  Halfway through the first pizza, she realized that he was still just poking at his cereal.

            "Y'know, it gets kinda nasty when ya let it sit there like that."  Anakin looked up in surprise.  He hadn't even known she was there.

            "What?"

            "Lucky Charms.  The marshmallows git all goopy."

            "Goopy."

            "Oh yeah.  I forgot, yer still learning English.  Slimy, runny.  Nasty."

            "Oh."  Never the most talkative person, Anakin had become even more taciturn 

since his arrival.

            They sat in silence for a handful of seconds.  "I'm Rogue," said Rogue, breaking the silence again.

            Anakin looked up.  "Rogue?"  She nodded.  "My sister Jaina was in Rogue Squadron.  My uncle helped found it."  It was the most he'd spoken to anyone other than Xavier since he'd arrived.  He was learning English well, though, even though he had a definite accent that was distinctly unplacable.

            "So they named a squadron after me.  I'm flattered."

            Anakin's mouth twitched.  It was almost a smile.

            "So what kind of squadron is this Rogue Squadron?"

            "X-wings.  It's a starfighter."

            "Anakin, if ya don't mind me askin'… What was it like?  Where yer from?"

            Anakin's face got impassive, then wistful.  "Bigger.  Different.  There were other species than just humans.  More styles of everything.  Conflicts, like here.  Then the Yuuzhan Vong came.  After that, everything just went…" He searched for the word, then projected his intention into Rogue's mind.

            "Strange.  Wrong.  It's more than that, but those words cover some of it," said Rogue.  There was more awkward silence.

            "Professor Xavier says that you are mutants."  Anakin looked slightly perplexed.  

"What do you do?"

            "It's not as flashy as some of the others.  I absorb some of the life-force of whoever I touch.  If they're a mutant, I absorb their powers."

            "That sounds interesting."

            "I hate it mostly.  I can't touch anyone.  Ever.  I could kill 'em."  She sighed.  "It's lonely, but that's life."

            Anakin got up.  "I need to meet with the Professor again."  He hesitated.  "It was good talking to you."

            "Back at ya."

            "What?"

            "It was nice talkin' with ya, too."

            As he walked out, Rogue realized that she was going to be late to class if she didn't leave now.  She got up and walked to the garage, the thought of skipping first block drifting across her mind.


	4. Lonely and fading, heartbroke and waitin...

Ch. 4

            Anakin walked out of his room as quietly as possible and lightly shut the door.  Even though Professor Xavier hadn't assigned him a roommate, he didn't want to wake anyone up.  The room was large, spacious, and comfortable, but it wasn't * _home *._

            He crept down the mansion's stairs and out the door.  Although he had been living here for the past two weeks, sixteen years of living by Galactic Standard Time still caused him to wake at strange hours.  The nightmares only abetted his poor sleeping.

            *_I suppose dying and waking up in a strange place will do that to a person *, he thought bitterly.  Anakin knew that anger and despair were of the Dark Side, but lately he had felt those dangerous emotions shading his perceptions.  Meditating helped, which was why he was out here tonight._

            He had woken up from a nightmare in which he relived the deaths of his friends and himself on their mission to destroy the voxyn queen.  In those first few moments after he woke up, he reached out for Tahiri, Jacen, Jaina, Mom, Dad, Uncle Luke, Aunt Mara, anyone… but then he remembered that they were gone.  _He was gone.  He had looked out of his window, but found no comfort in the unfamiliar constellations.  He had nearly been knocked to his knees by a sudden wave of grief, but soon composed himself.  * __Jedi don't cry *, he told himself, *__and neither do Solos. *_

            Anakin found his now usual seat by a tree, hidden from view from the windows of the Institute.  He settled down and tried to clear his mind.  He felt a twinge of homesickness as he opened himself to the Force.  It was different here, but although the strangeness reminded him that he didn't belong here, it was still the Force.

            Nearly forty-five minutes later, Anakin opened his eyes.  He felt calmer.  He extended his senses to the Institute to see if he had been missed.  Xavier's presence was there, concerned but understanding.  The others were still asleep.  Anakin silently made his way up the stairs and back to his room, murmuring the Jedi Code to himself…  * There is no passion, only peace.  There is no ignorance, only knowledge. *

            * There is no death, only the Force. *  Anakin paused.  * If that's true, then why am I here? *__


	5. Graduation

Ch. 4

            Nearly a month had gone by since Anakin had arrived. It was May, and Bayville High School's graduation day was at hand.  Jean and Scott, the Institute's resident seniors, were preparing to walk on the field and accept their high school diplomas.  Lance Alvers, Kitty's not-quite boyfriend, was also graduating (partially due to his and Kitty's "study" sessions, which the others had teased them both about quite a bit.)

            Anakin sat between Rogue and Kurt, who was wearing his usual image-inducer to hide his furry blue form.  Anakin had at first assumed that Kurt was an alien species, and was a bit surprised to learn that Kurt was a mutated human, and also the person who knocked him into this plane of existence.

            Even so, he didn't blame Kurt.

            "So your Jedi Academy didn't have graduations?" Rogue asked quietly.

            "Not really.  The Jedi of the Old Republic had tests, but we haven't really had time to fine-tune everything."

            "Well, what about—"  Rogue stopped suddenly and tensed up.

            "What?"  Anakin looked in the direction Rogue was staring in.  Three guys and two girls were sitting down in the bleachers.  One guy was rather short and mangy-looking, another was very large and imposing (_Hutt__-like, thought Anakin), and the third was slender with pale hair.  One girl had short black hair and looked uncomfortable, while the other had bright purple hair and a haughty air about her._

            "The Brotherhood.  They're not too bad, but I used to stay with them.  I left on bad terms.  We haven't been exactly friendly since."

            "They're not really bad," explained Kurt.  "They're troublemakers.  We've worked with them a few times.  Magneto, he's the bad guy.  He's always going on about how normal humans will try and kill mutants once we're revealed to the public."

            "Which one's he?"

            "What?  Oh, Magneto's not there.  We haven't heard from him for a while.  He's probably recovering from the last time we met up with him."

            "You mean _we've recovered from the last time we met __him.  I don't know about you, Rogue, but I seem to remember being pinned against the wall with metal beams."_

            Rogue glared at Kurt.  "Whatever, blue boy, we still haven't heard from him."

            "Anyway, those are Toad," (the mangy-looking guy), "Blob," (the large one), "Quicksilver," (the pale-haired one), "Scarlet Witch," (the black-haired girl), "and Risty.  We used to be friends, but she suddenly started hanging around with them all the time."

            "So they're mutants, too."

            "Yeah, but I don't know about Risty."

            The graduation ceremony began, with the seniors walking on the field to take their seats.  Rogue snorted in annoyance as Jean passed by.

            Anakin felt Rogue's annoyance.  "You don't like her?"

            "She's too perfect.  She dated the star football player, is dating Scott, and everyone likes her."

            "So you're jealous."

            Rogue worked her jaw for a bit.  "No!" she finally declared.

            Anakin grinned.  "You're jealous."

            "I am not!"

            "I'm a Jedi, Rogue, I can feel these things."  He grinned.  "Besides, you're much more interesting than Jean."

            "Really?"

            "Yeah.  Your clothes remind me of Coruscant's nightclubs."

            "WHAT?!"

            Rogue sat down quickly when eight people sitting near them turned to look at her, Scarlet Witch and Evan included.  "Was that an insult or a compliment?"

            "A fact.  And," Anakin looked down, "you remind me of my Aunt Mara."

            "Who do I remind you of?" interrupted Kurt.

            Anakin smiled.  "A Bothan."

            Kurt was baffled.  "What's that?"

            "A short, furred humanoid with pointed ears."

            "Who's that over there with Rogue and Kurt?" asked "Risty."  Only the others in the Brotherhood knew that she was really Mystique, their former—and current—leader.

            "Lance said that Kitty told him there was a new guy living at the Institute.  I guess that's him."  Pietro shrugged.

            "Do you know his name?  What his powers are?"

            "Nope."

            _Idiots, thought Mystique.  "Find out more.  We need to know what we're up against."_

            She looked over at the new guy.  Something about him wasn't right…  she decided not to rest until she knew what was it about him that so disconcerted her.


	6. Unwilling Accomplice

Chapter 6

            "What's wrong?"

            "Nothing," Lance replied irritably.  He and Kitty were at the mall, alternating between clothing and music stores and the video arcade.  He had to admit, he'd been moody since they'd arrived, but he felt he had a perfectly good reason to be.

_"You want me to what__?" he'd yelled._

_            "You heard me.  Find out about that new boy at the Institute."_

_            "Why me?" he'd asked, already knowing the answer._

_            Mystique glared at him, giving him a stare that made him feel like an idiot for even asking the question.  "You're the closest to any of them," she'd replied, in a deliberate tone that someone might use on a small child.  "And if you expect to continue living here, you need to contribute."_

_            He didn't bother correcting her that his after-school job had paid most of the bills while she was gone.  He didn't bother adding that the building that the Brotherhood lived in was better suited to a wrecking ball than to being lived in by teenagers._

_            So he had agreed, hating himself the whole time._

_            "So what time's Rogue and what's-his-name getting here?" Lance asked, fidgeting uncomfortably._

            "They're meeting us in the food court at 1."  She gasped as she checked her watch.  "We'd better start walking over there."

            Lance followed Kitty to the food court, giving an occasional noncommittal sound when she would say something.  _It's not like I'm doing anything illegal, he thought.  __I'm just using my girlfriend to get some information on some guy that's never done anything to me or my friends or the bossy blue lady that took over my life.  He snorted to himself.  __Life's sure become interesting since I found out I'm a mutant._

            He snapped back into the moment when he saw Kitty waving at two people sitting at a table.  Rogue was sitting down, looking like her usual antisocial self.  Next to her was the new guy, looking uncomfortable.

            "Hey Rogue!" called Kitty.  "Hi Anakin!"

            _Anakin? thought Lance.  __What the hell kind of name is "Anakin"?  He ignored his thoughts and waved, too._

            The guy, who was almost tall, with unruly brown hair and ice blue eyes, gave an awkward wave.  "I hope ya don't mind that we already got food," said Rogue as they got closer.  "We were kinda hungry."

            "No problem!" Kitty replied brightly.  "Lance, this is Anakin Suul.  Anakin, Lance Alvers."  She used the last name that Anakin had suggested in order for him to keep a lower profile.  She turned to Lance.  "I'm gonna get a salad from Chik-fil-a.  You want anything?"

            "Just get me a burger from McDonald's," he replied, handing her a couple of dollar bills.  Kitty walked off, leaving Lance with Rogue and Anakin.

            "So, where are you from?" Lance asked.

            "Belarus," Anakin said, looking at his chicken sandwich.

            "Where's that?"

            "Europe."  Professor Xavier had told him to say that whenever anyone asked about his origin.  Very few people in Bayville, if any, had heard of it, and it would explain his more-or-less unplaceable accent.

            "Oh."  The three sat there silently.  "So… you're living at the Institute?"

            "Yes."  More silence.

            "He knows about mutants!" Rogue finally said in an exasperated whisper.

            "Oh.  So… are _you a mutant?"_

            _You could say that, a voice in Lance's head replied._

            "Oh.  Okay."

            "Here's your burger," came Kitty's voice from behind him.  She sat down next to him and handed over a brown paper McDonald's bag.

            "Thanks."  Lance and Anakin ate in silence while Kitty and Rogue talked.  Lance studied Anakin carefully.  Anakin seemed to know he was being watched and stared back steadily.  "So how do you like Bayville?"

            "It's different.  Very different."

            "How'd Xavier find you, by the way?"

            "I guess I just kind of dropped in on him."  Anakin chuckled.

            Lance quirked an eyebrow.  "What's so funny?"

            "Nothing," said Anakin, sobering up a bit.  "I was in an unfamiliar place.  I was scared and I felt alone.  Xavier offered me help."

            "So did your family kick you out?"

            "What?"

            "You know, for being a mutant."

            "Oh, no.  They my uncle, my mother, and my brother and sister were… like me.  My father was very supportive.  But others wanted those like us dead.  Things got dangerous.  And it seemed like suddenly… I ended up here."

            "And your family?"

            "I will never see them again."  Anakin looked down at the table.

            "Lance!  If you'll stop grilling Anakin for one second and eat your burger, then maybe we could git to the arcade before it closes."

            Lance glared at Rogue.  "Just for that, I'm kicking your ass in Time Crisis."


End file.
